It has previously been proposed--see the referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,943, Kobler, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference--to coat a printing cylinder with a ceramic coating, which ceramic coating covers both the cylinder circumference as well as the adjacent surfaces of a cylinder groove, which may be provided, and extends axially throughout the cylinder. It has also been proposed to adhere thin plates on a printing cylinder, which plates carry impression or printing data. A frame is used for a base plate, in which the plate itself is adhered. The plates cover only a portion of the circumference of the cylinder, so that the portion not covered by the cylinder is not protected against corrosive influences which may arise in operation of the machine.